Shirt arrangement



1936. P. G. IQIADSEN ET AL 2,063,255

S H IRT ARRANGEMENT Filed Aug. 23, 1935 17:0,67150715 Zouzis P 6. Mad??? y I MMY Patented Dec. 8, 1936 snm'r ARRANGEMENT Louis P. G. Madsen, North Troy, and Gustaf A. Wallin, Flushing, N. Y., assignors to Cluett, Peabody & 00., Inc., Troy, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 23, 1935, Serial No. 37,478

8 Claims. (01. 223-83) This invention relates to a shirt arrangement, and more particularly involves the provision of supporting or shape-retaining members which may be employed within the collars of shirts to protect them against creasing when packed. This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Serial No. 9,996, filed March 8, 1935.

When shirts are packed either by the manufacturer or by a laundry, it is desirable to provide a compact bundle; particularly in the case of shirts being shipped by the manufacturer, it is desirable to ship as many shirts as possible in a box of given size, not only to facilitate convenience in handling and to reduce shipping charges, but also because space is saved in the store receiving the shirts. When shirts having their collars attached, and particularly having stiff or semi-stiff collars, are to be packed, it is 20 undesirable to flatten the collars completely, as is feasible in the case of soft collars, since a stifiened collar is likely tov receive .a more or less permanent crease at each of its sides. Such a crease is objectionable in appearance and tends to destroy the intended effect of the starching or stifiening material which has been applied to the collar. On the other hand, if. shirts having still or semi-stiff attached collars are packed with the collars retaining substantially their normal forms, a great deal of space is wasted and it is not possible to get many shirts in an ordinary packing box. Thus the cost of handling and shipping is increased, while unnecessary space is occupied in the stores receiving such boxes.

The present invention afiords supporting memmm which may be disposed at opposite sides of the collar to prevent crushing or flattening of the same and consequent development of creases at its sides, although permitting the distortion of the collar into a partially flattened shape. Thus the sides of the collar may be provided with gradually curved folds rather than creases, the curvature of these folds being sufliciently great so that an undesirable crease or a more or less permanent acute curvature at each side of thecollar is avoided. Thus this invention permits shirts with stiffor semi-still attached collars to be packed more compactly than would otherwise be possible without objectionably injuring or creasing the sides of the collars.

The supports provided by the present invention preferably are in the form of smalLmembers made of sheet material which may be bent to have a curvature of the order of that desired at the sides of the collar when the shirt is packed. A supporting member preferably therefore may be formed of a blank of sheet material which conveniently may have a shape substantially like that of a parallelogram having acute and obtuse angles and longer and shorter sides. Preferably the angular corners of the blank, however, may be rounded. The flat blank may then be bent so that it is provided with a longitudinal curvature between its shorter sides substantially about an axis parallel to those sides.

The blank and the resulting support may be formed of a variety of stiff, somewhat resilient sheet materials, such, for example, as cardboard or gelatinous cellulosic material, e. g., vulcanized fiber. In other words, the supports may be made of ordinary, good quality cardboard, or of such' material which has been treated with a gelatinizing agent, such as sulphuric acid or zinc chloride and subjected to heat and/or pressure to provide a more dense and stiif sheet with better form-retaining ability, or, if desired, the sheet of vulcanized fiber mayv be formed directly from gelatinized pulp or fiber stock, such as cotton fibers or the like. The employment of sheet material .in which the fibrous characteristics of the original stock are partially eliminated,'permits the resulting sheet to have distinct stiffness and form-retaining ability, so that the supports are preferably preformed when made of vulcanized fiber or the like. When the supports are preformed in this manner they. are preferably provided in right and left types to fit under the right and left portions of a collar, respectively.

Supports of this type may readily be inserted between the band and flap of the attached collar with their longer sides juxtaposed to the fold of the collar, it being evident that the height of each blank substantially corresponds to the height of folded shirt with the supporting members illustrated in dotted lines;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the upper portion of the shirt shown in Fig. 4, the position of one in Fig. 2. has two shorter, substantially parallel edges.2 and twolonger edges 3 which are dis-' posed in angularrelation to the edges 2. Preferably the corners of the blank are suitably rounded, as shown. A blank of this type may then be bent between its edges 2 to afford a curvature about an axis extending substantially parallel to the edges 2. Thus the blanks may be bent to,

provide supporting members I with opposite curvatures, as shown in Fig. 3. The blanks may be. bent or provided with thedesired curvature after cutting, or, if preferred, they may be cut from curved stock. In any case, the resulting supporting members I each have a gradual curvature to conform to the curvature at the side of a stiff or semi-stiff collar.

When shirts ofstifl or semi-stiff collars are .being packed, the collars may first be shaped or ironed over a special form to afford a substantial curvature at each of their sides. The supports or crease protectors I of the present invention may then be inserted under the front portions of the flaps and each support moved rearwardly until it reaches the curved portion of the collar with which it naturally interfits, so that the support naturally stops in the proper location. Thus, as shown in Figs. '4 and 5, the supports i may be disposed at each side of the collar between its hand 5 and flap 6. The shape of the support permits its upper edge conveniently to be juxtaposed to the fold at the juncture of the band and fiap, as particularly shown in Fig. 5, while the support may have a height of the order of the height of the band. After the support has been inserted between the band and fiap in this manner, the collar may be bent into a partially flattened shape so that each side thereof has the form of a gradually curved fold as, for example, particularly illustrated in Fig. 6. when this is done, the supporting members are effective in stiffening the collar and protecting it against sharp folding or creasing; thus, in practice, the gradual curvature of the folds may be maintained within acceptable limits so that no undesirable permanent distortion is impressed upon the sides. of the collar.

Obviously shirts which have been provided with supporting members in this manner may then be packed into a conventional shipping box, such as the box It illustrated in Fig. 1, with their collars in a partially flattened position, so that a greater number of shirts may be received by the box than otherwise would be possible without danger of creasing the sides of the collars or causing the same to be folded so sharply that permanent distortion might result. It is therefore evident that this invention permits the more compact arrangement of shirts in shippin boxes or in laundry packages, while protecting the collars against undesirable creasing or sharp folds.

While blanks of this type may, if desired be supplied to the users in flat form -and bent to shape by the users, preferably the supports are preformed and provided in right and left types to fit within the right and left sides of collars, respectively. This is particularly desirable when stiff form-retaining sheet material, such as vulcanized fiber, is used. It is evident that supporting members of this type are not visible to the prospective purchaser of a shirt and accordingly in nowise impair its appearance and salability.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A crease protector for insertion between the collar and neckband of a collar-attached shirt to prevent the collar from creasing at the side when the shirt is folded in flat condition, the proytector comprising a piece of stiff flexible sheet material having a width approximating that of the neckband of the shirt and a length less than half the length of such a neckband, the protector being preformed with longitudinal curvature so that it may be readily slipped under one side of a folded collar, then protecting the fold at that side of the collar from creasing without showing and without substantially increasing the bulk of the folded shirt.

2. A support for insertion between the flap and neckband of a collar-attached shirt to maintain a gradually curved fold at one side of the collar and thus to prevent sharp creasing thereof, the support comprising a piece of stiff flexible sheet material having a width approximating that of the neckband of a shirt and a length less than half the length of such a neckband, the support being formed from a blank having the general form of a parallelogram with a pair of parallel longer edges and a pair of parallel shorter edges extending between the longer edges, the blank being curved intermediate its shorter edges about an axis substantially parallel to the shorter edges of the support.

3. In combination with a shirt having an attached collarincluding a band and a flap, said collar having gradually curved folds at eachof its sides, spaced supporting members disposed between the band and flap at said folds, respectively, said'members each consisting of 'a curved piece of relatively stiff, somewhat resilient sheet material. concealed between the band and flap of the collar andmaintaining the gradually curved fold at the side of the collar, whereby the shirt may be packed with the collar bent into a partly flattened position but without creases at its sides.

4. In combination with a shirt, having an attached collar including a band and a flap, said collar having gradually curved folds at each of its sides, spaced supporting members disposed between the band and fiap at said folds, respectively, said members each consisting of a curved piece of relatively stiff, somewhat resilient sheet 'material concealed between the band and flap of the collar, and maintaining a gradually curved fold at the side of the collar, each of said mem-v bers being formed of a blank having a straight edge for fitting within the fold of the collar and having a curvature about an axis disposed angularly in relation to said edge.

5.. In combination 'with a shirt having an attached collarincluding a band and a flap, said collar having gradually curved folds at each of its sides, spaced supporting members disposed be-' tween the band and fiap at saidfolds, respectively, said members each consisting of a curved piece of relatively stiff, somewhat resilient sheet material concealed between the band and flap of the collar and maintaining a gradually curved told at the side of the collar, each of said supporting members having its longer edges parallel to each other and shorter parallel edges extending in angular relation thereto, the intermediate part of the member being bent into a gradual curve about a central axis substantially parallel tosaid shorter edges.

6. A crease protector for insertion between the collar and neckband of a collar-attached shirt to prevent the collar from creasing at the side when the shirt is folded in flat condition, the protector comprising a piece of stiff, flexible sheet material in theform of a gelatinous cellulosic composition and having a width approximating that of the neckband of the shirt and a length less than half the length of such a neckband, the protector being preformed with a longitudinal curvature so that it may readily be slipped under one canized fiber and having a width approximating that of the neckband of the shirt and a length less than half the length of such a neckband,

the protector being preformed with a longitudinal curvature so that it may readily he slipped under one side of a folded collar, then protecting the fold at that side of the collar from creasing without showing and without substantially increasing the bulk of the folded shirt.

8. In combination with a shirt having an attached collar including a band and a flap, said collar having gradually curved folds at each of its sides, a pair of spaced supporting members, one of said members being disposed between the band and flap ateach of said folds, said members each consisting of a curved piece of relatively stifi, somewhat resilient sheet material concealed between the band and flap of the collar and maintaining a gradually curved fold at the side 

